Wife of Slain Neo-Nazi Organizer Pleads Guilty to Child Abuse

RIVERSIDE – The wife of a neo-Nazi organizer allegedly shot and killed by his 10-year-old son pleaded guilty today to child abuse and was immediately sentenced to four months in jail and four years probation.

During a settlement hearing before Riverside County Superior Court Judge J. Thompson Hanks, Krista Faye McCary, 26, withdrew her previous plea of not guilty to the felony charge as well as another allegation of failing to secure a firearm in a household with children present. McCary’s attorney, Leonard Valadez, negotiated a plea agreement with the District Attorney’s Office just before the hearing that called for the dismissal of four charges of child endangerment and three charges of failure to store a firearm in exchange for McCary’s guilty plea to the other two counts.

Hanks sentenced the Riverside woman to work release in lieu of jail time and ordered her to attend a 52-week child rearing program approved by the Department of Public Social Services.

Had McCary been convicted of all nine original felony charges, she could have faced around 30 years in prison.

Riverside police investigators allege McCary stood by and watched as her husband, 32-year-old Jeff Russell Hall, abused their five children, mainly the eldest boy, Joseph, who is McCary’s stepson.

There were numerous guns, knives and swords in the house, easily accessible to any of the children, according to Riverside police Detective Greg Rowe.

”Krista said that Jeffrey did these things to punish (him),” Rowe wrote. ”Krista said that (the boy) would get punished for being too loud or getting in Jeffrey’s way. Krista said Jeffrey would get out of control when he punished (his son), including punching and kicking him several times in the back.”

Hall, a plumber, was the Southwest regional director of the Detroit- based National Socialist Movement, which advocates racial segregation. He was a visible presence at neo-Nazi rallies throughout the Inland Empire.

On May 1, Hall was sleeping on a front room sofa in his two-story Louder Court home when his son allegedly shot him in the head, using a Rossi .357 revolver that he’d pulled out of the master bedroom closet, according to investigators.

”The oldest child … admitted during the interview that he was tired of his dad hitting him and his (step)mom,” Rowe wrote. ”(He) said he thought his dad was cheating on his (step)mom and thought he might have to choose which person he would live with.”

Neither McCary or Joseph’s siblings — a 2-month-old, 3-year-old, 7-year- old and 9-year-old — were injured.

Hall was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics.

The detective described the house as ”filthy,” with dirty clothes scattered everywhere, urine-stained and soiled bed sheets and floors that ”didn’t appear to have been vacuumed in a long time.”

All of the youngsters are now in the care of child welfare workers.

Joseph is being held at Riverside Juvenile Hall. He’s undergoing psychiatric evaluations, and another hearing in the case is set for next month.

If convicted of murder and a sentence-enhancing gun use allegation, the 10-year-old could be imprisoned until he is 25.

I cannot believe a child being punished all of his life by his father will now be punished even more for the wrongs that were done by his father and step mother. The child needs help not more negative punishment.

Good riddance to the scum father! It’s just sad that a child had to take control to do something so drastic to stop the abuse. He needs all the help that he can get and should not be further punished. I would consider that self defence in his way of thinking. The mother should serve much more time than four months! What is wrong with our justice system?

I agree, the kid is the victim here & possibly a hero. This isn’t the first story of an abused kid killing his parent… More needs to be done to make kids aware of their options, like reporting the abuse to a teacher or the police.

When I was 5 or 6, I thought about killing my father due to his constant verbal abuse, occassional physical abuse, and constant terror tactics. Up until that age I had been raised in a multigenerational household including a very kind and loving grandfather, an equally loving step granmother, a grand aunt who’s eyes lit up everytime she looked at me, and of course my mother. Dad would visit when he could due to his military assignments such as WWII occupation forces and the Korean War. I thought about how my mother would react when I stabbed him in bed and decided not to kill him. I know that was the right thing to do but wonder if my life would have been better or worse if I had killed him. I know my mother’s life would have been better and so would my little brother’s. I suffered from anxiety for many years, raised my son as I was raised, and now have PTSD and all the disorders that go with it. Was doing the right thing really the right thing? My heart goes out to this 10 yr old. Get him therapy and keep him away from other young criminals! What are these prosecuters thinking? He’s only 10 & could be saved if kept away from violence, racism, hatred, etc. Obviously he should be in foster care & only allowed supervised visits w/his racist mom. Returning him to her or dad’s family would only encourage more violence/hatred.